On 2 Feb, 2012 With
The Restoration of a Velázquez In 1973, for reasons still not clear to me, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York undertook a sweeping reassessment of many of its holdings, resulting in the downgrading of 300 old master paintings from attribution to the master to attribution to “workshop of”, “circle of” or “follower of”, removing them from the canon of those masters’ works and significantly depleting the value of the museum’s collection. Some of those pieces have been again reassessed, both in the light of continued scholarship and as the result of subsequent cleanings and restorations. Last year the Met cleaned and restored Velázquez’s Portrait of a Man, and in the process restored it to it’s original attribution — originating…
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On 31 Jan, 2012 With
REMBRANDT portraits decoded A University of British Columbia researcher has uncovered what makes Rembrandt’s masterful portraits so appealing. In the study, published in the current issue of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s arts and sciences journal Leonardo, UBC researcher Steve DiPaola argues that Rembrandt may have pioneered a technique that guides the viewer’s gaze around a portrait, creating a special narrative and “calmer” viewing experience. Renaissance artists used various techniques to engage viewers, many incorporating new scientific knowledge on lighting, spatial layout and perspectives. To isolate and pinpoint factors that contribute to the “magic” of Rembrandt’s portraits, DiPaola used computer-rendering programs to recreate four of the artist’s most famous portraits from photographs of himself and other models. Replicating Rembrandt’s techniques,…
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On 25 Jan, 2012 With
Secrets of Rembrandt’s Painting Technique Rembrandt’s paintings have transfixed viewers for centuries, but now a new study reveals a scientific explanation for their calming beauty. By painting more detail in and around the eyes of his subjects, Rembrandt tapped into an innate human attraction to the face. This creates a more calming and immersive experience for the viewer. To figure out Rembrandt’s painting secret, scientists used computer rendering to match photos of current models (and a scientist) with four of Rembrandt’s portraits. They manipulated four regions of the portraits: regions centered about each eye, on each side of the chin, and the region where the collar meets the skin of the neck. CREDIT: Steve DiPaola, James Enns, Caitlin Riebe. Steve…
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On 20 Dec, 2011 With
Oil painting techniques: Rembrandt’s Palette Rembrandt was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. Lead white Ochres Bone black Vermillion Siennas Raw umber Burnt umber Lead-Tin Yellow Cassel earth
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On 18 Dec, 2011 With
The Old Masters: Velázquez’s Palette Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez was a Spanish painter who was the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV. According to Carmen Garrido, Head of Technical Services at the Prado Museum in Madrid and author of Velázquez: Tecnica y Evolución, Velázquez’s palette consisted of the following colors: WHITE: composed of lead white and calcite YELLOW: yellow iron oxide, lead-tin yellow, and Naples yellow (the latter, sparingly) ORANGE: orange iron oxide and vermilion of mercury RED: red iron oxide, vermilion of mercury, and organic red lake BLUE: azurite, lapis lazuli, and smalt BROWN: brown iron oxide and manganese oxide BLACK: organic black of vegetal or animal origin GREEN: azurite, iron oxide, and lead-tin yellow PURPLE: organic red lake and…
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On 11 Dec, 2011 With
Turner’s Palette Joseph Mallord William Turner was an English Romantic landscape painter, watercolourist and printmaker. Cobalt blue Emerald green Viridian Orange vermilion Barium chromate (yellow) Chrome yellow Chrome orange Iodine scarlet Burnt umber Carbon black Turner’s yellow Many red lake colors White [titanium? flake?] This doesn’t feel like his complete palette. And his palette did change over time.
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On 7 Dec, 2011 With
Eugène Delacroix’s Palette Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school. Eugène Delacroix’s Palette: lead white charcoal black lamp black raw umber yellow ochre red ochre madder lake lead-tin yellow vermilion lapis lazuli green earth indigo smalt cobalt (probably blue) Egyptian brown (also known as Egyptian Mummy) cadmium (yellow) Indian yellow light chrome yellow zinc yellow red lake vermilion
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On 5 Dec, 2011 With
Van Dyck’s Palette Sir Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. Van Dyck’s Palette: Lead white Charcoal black Lamp black Raw umber Yellow ochre Red ochre Madder lake (sub. Alizarin Crimson) Lead-tin yellow (sub. Cadmium Yellow) Vermilion Lapis lazuli Green earth Indigo Cassel Earth Smalt (sub. Cobalt blue)
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On 26 Nov, 2011 With
Aimé Morot’s Palette Aimé Morot (1850–1913) was a French painter. Morot was born in Nancy, where he studied under a drawing master named Thierry. He later attended the atelier of Alexandre Cabanel in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, but left after only two weeks to continue his studies independently. During this period he spent much of his time studying animals in the Jardin des plantes, and was later to become famous for his paintings of horses, lions and bulls. Despite his lack of attendance at the École, he won the Prix de Rome in 1873. The subject given that year was the Babylonian Captivity. The prize-winning painting is currently in the collection of the École des beaux-arts in Paris, and can be viewed on request. Morot married the daughter of Jean-Léon Gérôme….
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On 3 Nov, 2011 With
Gérôme’s Palette Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. Lead white Cadmium yellow Yellow ochre Mars yellow Vermilion Light red Burnt sienna Rose madder Purple lake (laque pourpre) Emerald green Mineral blue* Cobalt blue light Ivory black *According to Vibert (La science de la peinture, p. 288), mineral blue (bleu minéral) is a pigment with the same chemical composition as Prussian blue.
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